THE WAR IN Ukraine should end in at least ten days, US President Donald Trump has warned Vladimir Putin.

In what is becoming a common occurrence when meeting with world leaders, Trump made many remarks during a lengthy press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, which lasted over one hour.

During the news conference, the American President claimed the US will work to curb starvation in Gaza and that he “never had the privilege” of visiting Jeffery Epstein’s island in the Caribbean.

Trump also announced a slashing of the 50-day deadline he had given to Russia this month to end its war in Ukraine.

Asked what the new date for the Russian president was, Trump said: “I’m going to make a new deadline of about ten, ten or 12 days, from today. There’s no reason in waiting [for the whole 50 days].

“It was 50 days, I wanted to be generous. But, we just don’t see any progress being made.”

Trump on Putin: "I'm gonna make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 28, 2025 at 2:06 PM

Earlier this month, Trump had pledged to sanction Russia with severe trading tariffs should a deal not be agreed.

He, today, said: “Russia could be so rich right now, instead they spend all their money on war. They could be so rich, but they spend their money on killing people. I thought he [Putin] would want to end this thing quickly.

“But every time I think it’s going to end, he kills people,” Trump told reporters, adding that he was no longer interested in holding discussions with the Russian President, insisting that Putin acts in bad faith.

Increasing aid in Gaza

Trump claimed that the US’ joint-plan with Israel to increase aid in Gaza, through airdrops and the controversial operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has received support from Starmer and other European nations.

Starmer, who welcomed the approval of the Israeli government for countries to airdrop aid in to the war-torn region of Gaza, said the UK willing to work with the US, whose food distribution operations has led to the deaths of over 1,000 people in recent weeks.

Neither leader mentioned the fact that previous aid airdrop missions led to the harm and death of Palestinians, including a number of people that had drowned when seeking to recoup aid that had landed off the coast of the region.

“We do have to take care of the humanitarian needs of, what they used to call, the Gaza Strip. You don’t hear that line too much any more, you don’t hear the Gaza Strip, but it is the Gaza Strip,” Trump said.

The US President said that food centres would be set up in the region and claimed that “trillions of dollars” have been raised for the plan – adding that “we’re going to spend a little bit of money on some food”.

Trump said it was “crazy” that Palestinians in Gaza were not able to access food. 

Today, the head of the UN’s aid agency said Israel needed to redouble its efforts to accelerate the delivery of aid into Gaza, after the government agreed to expand humanitarian access for just one week.

'We have to get the kids fed, so we've been sending in a lot of food.'

US president Donald Trump speaks about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.https://t.co/cGzLRc3vx4

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— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 28, 2025

The first aid airdrops also landed in the country today. The UN said it would attempt to reach as many people as possible now that secure land routes have been announced.

The UN and independent NGOs working in the region have warned that Palestinians are at risk of starvation after four months of an Israel’s siege on Gaza. An estimated 62,000 tonnes of food are needed to meet basic needs, the World Food Project said today.

Trump acknowledged the warnings today, claiming that the US were working to improve the situation of the millions of Palestinians who have been displaced from their homes in the months of Israel’s war.

‘Never had the privilege’ of attending Epstein’s island

Trump was also asked about his previous relationship with prolific sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking.

The US President knew and socialised with Epstein before entering politics, including when they were neighbours in Florida. Trump has always denied visiting the US Virgin Islands home, where prosecutors say the man sex trafficked underage girls.

“I never went to the island,” Trump said today, before naming a number of people who allegedly met with the financier Epstein at his home in the Caribbean and that “no body ever talks about”.

“I never had the privilege of going to his island,” Trump added. “I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach went to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island.”

Far-right Trump supporters have claimed the existence of a still-secret client list belonging to Epstein, and that he was murdered in his cell as part of a cover-up.

They expected the Republican administration to answer their questions on Trump’s return to office in January, and were met with promises to do so from earmarked cabinet appointees.

Now, supporters find themselves being told the conspiracy theories are false. The Justice Department and FBI said in a memo made public this month that there is no evidence that Epstein kept a “client list” or was blackmailing powerful people. 

The issue has caused a public rift in the MAGA movement.

With reporting by AFP